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Payson Council says contract to study purchase of Plunder building for police station is exploratory; no purchase finalized
Summary
Payson officials say the city is under contract to study buying the Plunder building as a possible police facility, with due diligence running through Nov. 10; the city says retrofit and purchase costs will be weighed against building a new station estimated at $20–30 million.
Payson’s mayor told the City Council on Sept. 3 that the city is under contract to pursue due diligence on acquiring the Plunder building as a potential new police facility, but said the contract does not obligate the city to buy the property.
The mayor said the property was placed under contract Aug. 11, the asking price is about $8,500,000, and the council has until Nov. 10 to complete due diligence including engineer assessments. He said the city has commissioned engineers to determine whether retrofitting the building is financially and logistically feasible.
The move comes as the city assesses options to address what the mayor described as an overcrowded police facility. He told the council that constructing a right-sized, new police station would cost an estimated $20 million to $30 million, and that purchasing and retrofitting an existing building could materially reduce that cost if feasible.
Council discussion emphasized that no final decision had been made. The mayor said, in effect, the contract is a vehicle to secure time for further study and that there are “plenty of outs” in the contract. He stressed the city is not obligated to proceed if studies show the project is not feasible.
Council members also addressed public misinformation circulating about the matter. A council member urged that facts be shared publicly and defended city staff, saying attacks and inaccurate social-media claims had created confusion. The same council member said the city’s elected officials and employees are ordinary residents seeking to improve Payson and urged civility in public discussion.
The council did not take a formal vote on the property purchase on Sept. 3. The mayor said the city will continue engineering and financial reviews and will report back to the council before any binding decision is made.
The item was discussed during the council reports portion of the meeting and not as a formal action item.
What happens next: the mayor and staff will complete the contracted due diligence work by the Nov. 10 deadline and present findings to the council before any contractual obligation is executed.
